SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Steve Spurrier, the South Carolina coach who knows a little about offense, said the game could wind up 60-55.

Kirk Herbstreit, the TV analyst who knows a little about these teams, said defenses must bristle when they keep hearing about scores in the 50s.

The Las Vegas bookmakers, who don't throw out numbers just for fun, envision something more like 38-35.

Spurrier said 60-55 is a possibility tonight when No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Oregon meet for the Bowl Championship Series title.

"You have two of the best offensive minds in football," he said, speaking of Oregon coach Chip Kelly and Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

"I think both defenses have something to prove and want to show up and are tired of answering questions about how it's going to be 55-53," Herbstreit said. "I think they have a point to prove. I think it will be a low-scoring game, lower scoring because of the way the two defenses are going to show up in a bad mood."

But while defense wins championships, offense sells tickets, and almost everything points to this being a high-scoring game. Auburn heads into the game favored by 2 points, though more telling is the over-under for the contest, set at 74 points.

Auburn and Oregon are newcomers to the championship scene, with offenses that, almost literally, never take a break. Auburn has Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner who led the Southeastern Conference in rushing, passer efficiency and scoring. Oregon has LaMichael James, the key to an offense that likes to snap the ball 9 to 11 seconds after the end of the previous play, and one that scores a nation-high 49.1 points a game.

"We're anticipating it being very quick, obviously, from the things that we've heard," Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. "But we're prepared for that."

Chizik and Kelly are, quite possibly, the most obscure coaching duo to pace the sideline in a championship game since the BCS began in 1999.

Both are in their second seasons as head coach at their schools. Chizik is a former defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas who returned to the South despite a 5-19 record at his first head coaching job at Iowa State. Kelly was hand-picked by his predecessor, Mike Bellotti. After his first game as Oregon's head coach, a 19-8 loss to Boise State to start 2009, Kelly famously cut a check to reimburse a season-ticket holder who wrote him to complain about the performance.

Auburn has been pummeled all season with questions about Newton's status, the result of a meandering investigation into allegations his father was involved in a failed pay-for-play scheme during Newton's recruitment to Mississippi State.

The NCAA cleared Newton to play shortly before the SEC title game, and with the Tigers confident - at least for now - they won't have to give back the crystal ball if they win it, the most notable thing to pass for controversy this past week has been the debate over whether Auburn defensive lineman Nick Fairley is a cheap-shot artist.

Fairley, the Lombardi Award winner as the nation's best lineman, has brandished a reputation for playing hard through the whistle, and sometimes beyond. How Oregon's quick - but not huge - offensive line handles Fairley could dictate how well Oregon's fast-paced offense runs.

"He's got speed, strength, technique," Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said of Fairley. "Basically, all the things you don't want to see as an offensive guy lining up against him, he's got."

James, who has averaged 152 yards and almost two touchdowns for an offense that has been held below 37 points only once, said he can tell when a defense is breaking down.

"You start seeing a lot of hands on hips, broken tackles, things like that," he said. "You see them blitzing but not really blitzing because they don't have the energy."

Knowing Oregon will try to push the pace in this game, the way the Ducks have all year, Chizik said he would have a specific conversation with officials before the game, urging them to enforce a rule that allows the defense time to make substitutions if the offense does. Kelly said it won't make a difference, "because we don't sub."

"When we want to play fast, we know the rules," he said. "If we are trying to play at a fast tempo, we are not trying to sub in those situations."

Oregon will try to become the first team to stop Newton, who has a linebacker's body - 6-foot-6, 250 pounds - but has offensive skills. He became the first player to run for 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 yards in Southeastern Conference history.

By Eddie Pells

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Steve Spurrier, the South Carolina coach who knows a little about offense, said the game could wind up 60-55.

Kirk Herbstreit, the TV analyst who knows a little about these teams, said defenses must bristle when they keep hearing about scores in the 50s.

The Las Vegas bookmakers, who don't throw out numbers just for fun, envision something more like 38-35.

Spurrier said 60-55 is a possibility tonight when No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Oregon meet for the Bowl Championship Series title.

"You have two of the best offensive minds in football," he said, speaking of Oregon coach Chip Kelly and Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

"I think both defenses have something to prove and want to show up and are tired of answering questions about how it's going to be 55-53," Herbstreit said. "I think they have a point to prove. I think it will be a low-scoring game, lower scoring because of the way the two defenses are going to show up in a bad mood."

But while defense wins championships, offense sells tickets, and almost everything points to this being a high-scoring game. Auburn heads into the game favored by 2 points, though more telling is the over-under for the contest, set at 74 points.

Auburn and Oregon are newcomers to the championship scene, with offenses that, almost literally, never take a break. Auburn has Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner who led the Southeastern Conference in rushing, passer efficiency and scoring. Oregon has LaMichael James, the key to an offense that likes to snap the ball 9 to 11 seconds after the end of the previous play, and one that scores a nation-high 49.1 points a game.

"We're anticipating it being very quick, obviously, from the things that we've heard," Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. "But we're prepared for that."

Chizik and Kelly are, quite possibly, the most obscure coaching duo to pace the sideline in a championship game since the BCS began in 1999.

Both are in their second seasons as head coach at their schools. Chizik is a former defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas who returned to the South despite a 5-19 record at his first head coaching job at Iowa State. Kelly was hand-picked by his predecessor, Mike Bellotti. After his first game as Oregon's head coach, a 19-8 loss to Boise State to start 2009, Kelly famously cut a check to reimburse a season-ticket holder who wrote him to complain about the performance.

Auburn has been pummeled all season with questions about Newton's status, the result of a meandering investigation into allegations his father was involved in a failed pay-for-play scheme during Newton's recruitment to Mississippi State.

The NCAA cleared Newton to play shortly before the SEC title game, and with the Tigers confident - at least for now - they won't have to give back the crystal ball if they win it, the most notable thing to pass for controversy this past week has been the debate over whether Auburn defensive lineman Nick Fairley is a cheap-shot artist.

Fairley, the Lombardi Award winner as the nation's best lineman, has brandished a reputation for playing hard through the whistle, and sometimes beyond. How Oregon's quick - but not huge - offensive line handles Fairley could dictate how well Oregon's fast-paced offense runs.

"He's got speed, strength, technique," Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said of Fairley. "Basically, all the things you don't want to see as an offensive guy lining up against him, he's got."

James, who has averaged 152 yards and almost two touchdowns for an offense that has been held below 37 points only once, said he can tell when a defense is breaking down.

"You start seeing a lot of hands on hips, broken tackles, things like that," he said. "You see them blitzing but not really blitzing because they don't have the energy."

Knowing Oregon will try to push the pace in this game, the way the Ducks have all year, Chizik said he would have a specific conversation with officials before the game, urging them to enforce a rule that allows the defense time to make substitutions if the offense does. Kelly said it won't make a difference, "because we don't sub."

"When we want to play fast, we know the rules," he said. "If we are trying to play at a fast tempo, we are not trying to sub in those situations."

Oregon will try to become the first team to stop Newton, who has a linebacker's body - 6-foot-6, 250 pounds - but has offensive skills. He became the first player to run for 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 yards in Southeastern Conference history.